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THE ISSUE -ITS HISTORY. 



SPEECH 



West. E^s. Hiiit. Soc. 



HON. JOSHUA R. GIDDINGS, OF OHIO. 



Delivered in the House of Representatives, January 12, 1859. 



Mr. GIDDINGS said: Mr. Chairman, two 
days since, my friend from Maine [Mr. Wash- 
BURx] took occasion to call attention to the 
great issue which now divides the people of 
these States. I listened to him with unusual 
pleasure. I fully accorded with his views. It 
is certain that one of our political organizations 
holds that a State or a Territory, when forming 
a State Constitution, and acting within our Fed- 
eral powers, may authorize its people to enslave 
a portion of mankind, doom them to live with- 
out knowledge, to grope their way to physical 
death, amid the darkness of moral and intel- 
lectual night! The other party emphatically 
denies those doctrines, declaring that human 
Governments are limited in their just powers by 
the law of eternal right and wrong, and can im- 
part to no man authority or moral right to rob, 
enslave, or murder his fellow-beings ; that the 
ol)ject and duty of Governments are to protect 
every liuman soul in the enjoyment of life, lib- 
erty, and happiness. 

These positions are antagonistic. The gulf 
that separates the Republican and Democratic 
parties is broad and deep;. one reasoning and 
acting for Freedom, the other for Slavery, it 
becomes impossible for them to agree on any 
collateral question. 

The President, in his message, has spoken 
for his party. In the first paragraph, he recog- 
nises the dogma that human souls may be en- 
slaved and transformed into property ; and the 
entire message constitutes an argument for ex- 
tending the curse of human bondage. If his 
predicate be correct, his efforts to acquire Cuba, 
and parts of Mexico, and Central America, can- 
not be wrong. Indeed, his labors in behalf of 
the foreign and domestic slave trade are based 
upon the doctrines of his party ; and those men 



who are now engaged in bringing African 
slaves into Georgia and other Southern States 
must stand or fall Avith the party whose doc- 
trines they support ; for if Slavery be right, the 
slave trade cannot be wrong. 

I have often spoken on this subject, and do 
not intend to enlarge upon it at this time. I 
have defined the issue thus briefly for the pur- 
pose of calling attention to some incidents in 
that train of events which developed this issue 
with the same moral certainty with which eflfect 
always follows cause. 

I am led to the discharge of this duty from 
the consideration that I have long participated 
in those incidents, and have been somewhat 
familiar with some of the measures which have 
conduced to the bringing of this great question 
before the country. I am also induced to do 
this from the consideration that many honest 
men are desirous that Republicans shall modi- 
fy, change, or abandon their doctrines. 

It is certain that our principles were promul- 
gated in the Declaration of Independence; 
that the signers of that first charter of Ameri- 
can liberty declared that all men are endowed 
by their Creator with the unalienable, the ab- 
stract right to enjoy life, liberty, and happiness: 
and that the framers of the Constitution, recog- 
nising this primal doctrine, ordained " that no 
person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or prop- 
erty, without due process of law." Our doc- 
trine seems to have met with universal appro- 
val, except by the Tories of that dav, up to the 
year 1791 ; and the first denial of it by any 
Whig was published by Thomas Paine, in his 
essay upon " the Rights of Man,*' wherein he 
declares that " whatever a whole nation chooses 
to do, it has a right to do." No person can fail 
to see the identity of this doctrine with that 



now proclaimed by the Democrauc party, al- 
leging that the people of a Territory, in framing 
a Constitution, may without injustice authorize 
Slavery if they choose. The doctrines of Paine 
and of the democratic party are identical in 
denying that human GoverMments are limited 
by the law of eternal right and wrong. They 
agree that the people of a nation or State may, 
ii they choose, authorize murder, robbery, and 
piracy ; for all these are embraced in the term 
'* Slavery." 

But the doctrine of Paine would probably 
have passed unnoticed by the statesmen of that 
age, except for a tacit approval by Mr. Jeffer- 
son, who carelessly expressed a desire that the 
work might be reprinted. The approval, how- 
ever, refeiTed to the work as a whole, and not 
to this particular dogma. But this circumstance 
called out John Quiacy Adams, at that time a 
young lawyer of Boston, who, in a series of well- 
considered articles, exposed the error of Paine, 
and clearly demonstrated the limited power of 
human Governments — showed their inability to 
change the natural or innate character of any 
act ; that murder, or piracy, or robbery, is in- 
herently wicked and criminal, rendered so by 
the Creator, by the immutable law of right 
and wrong, and must retain their inherent 
wickedness, though ten thousand human stat- 
utes pronounce them just, and authorize their 
commission ; that the legitimate powers of gov- 
ernment are limited to the protection, and do not 
extend to the destruction, of man's inalienable 
rights. This vindication of the self-evident 
truths promulgated in the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and repeated in the Constitution, was 
published while most of the signers of that 
great charter of Liberty and most of the framers 
of the Constitution wei-e living. It emanated 
from the son of one of the most distinguished 
of those patriots. It attracted the atteutiou of 
General Washington, then President of the 
United States, who soon after tendered to young 
Adams a foreign mission. Every person will 
gee the perfect identity of the views proclaimed 
by Mr. Adams and those avowed by the Repub- 
lican party. 

The institution of Slavery was then acknowl- 
edged to be wrong. In the language of Henry 
Clay, it was " looked upon as a curse — a curse 
to the slave, and a grievous curse to the mas- 
ter," a crime which they were constrained to 
tolerate, but could not justify. 

The people of the free States regarded it as a 
relic of the more barbarous ages, unsuiied tu 
Christain civilization, and they repudiated and 
abolished it. 

But the Southern Suites suffered it to remain 
undisturbed until it became chronic, and men 
began to look round for arguments in favor of 
its continuance. Those of more desjierate char- 
acter began to deal in slaves, making merchan- 
dise in human flesh their regular vocation. 
Planters began to look upon these crimes as 
oommon, became familiar with them, and event- 



ually justified their perpetration by what they 
termed the necessity of surrounding circum- 
stances. Of course, they viewed Northern men, 
who advocated universal freedom and justice to 
all, with distrust, and soon after with determin- 
ed opposition. This feeling became so strong 
as to defeat the election of Mr. Adams to the 
Presidency in 1S28, although his previous Ad- 
ministration had been able, pure, and patriotic. 

It was the good fortune of that renowned states- 
man to have lived at the time when the Decla- 
ration of Independence was promulgated. He 
had mingled freely with the patriots who devo- 
ted their lives to the support of its " self-evident 
truths ; " he had drank deeply at the fountains 
of Liberty ; he had fully imbibed the spirit of 
that heroic age. Soon after his defeat in the 
Presidential campaign, he became a member of 
this body ; and while here he adhered most 
strictly to the doctrines of the Revolution, and 
strove to develop the real issue which then ex- 
isted between slave and free labor. While the 
Slave Power was constantly persecuting him, 
endeavoring to prostrate his influence, he was 
laboring to bring out to the public view th« 
secret doctrines and motives which controlled 
its advocates. If gentlemen will consult the 
debates of this body during the time he served 
here, or his biography, they will find that he 
was constantly endeavoring to develop the pre- 
cise issue now existing between the Republican 
and Democratic parties. I may be permitted 
to cite an instance. In 1844, the Legislature 
of Massachusetts sent to this House a memorial, 
asking an amendment of the Constitution, so 
as to apportion the representation in Congress 
according to the free population of the several 
States. It was referred to a select committee of 
nine members, some of whom were regarded as 
among the ablest statesmen of the South. As 
chairman, Mr. Adams drew up a report. It 
was based upon the self-evident truths, that all 
men have equal right to live, to that liberty 
which is necessary to acquire knowledge and 
attain happiness. It was read to the commit- 
tee, and considered maturely. Of the eight 
members besides himself, I alone signed this 
report; but no one denied its doctrines. He 
and I had hoged tliat Governor Gilmer, of Vir- 
ginia, and other Southern members, would have 
had the moral courage to admit or deny its 
principles ; but they evidently feared to do so. 

I will give another instance, illustrating his 
confidence in the truths of that instrument. 
When Southern men had long been in the 
habit of threatening a dissolution of the Union, 
some people of Massachusetts became tired of 
the bombast, and sent a petition to this body, 
praying Congress to take measures for tJie 
peaceful and immediate separation of the States 
composing our Confederacy. Its jiresentation 
by Mr. Adams created great sensation in this 
body 5 and a resolution of censure was immedi- 
ately ofiered ; and the aged patriot was forth- 
with arraigned at the bar of the House. The 



euemies of Freedom were loud iu their exulta- 
tion ; they fully expected to prostrate his in- 
fluence. A distinguished and eloquent son of 
Kentucky was appointed to manage the prose- 
cution. Some of Mr. Adams's friends faltered ; 
others became alarmed, and made indecent 
haste to deny all sympathy with him, and pub- 
licly to repudiate his doctrines ; but these things 
did not move him. A deep and absorbing in- 
terest pervaded this body and the community 
generally. Every member was in his seat. The 
spacious galkries were crowded to their utmost 
capacity, gainst him were arrayed Gilmer 
and Wise and Cooper and Johnson, and a host 
of distinguished men from the slave States. 
Marshall led the assault in an able and effect- 
ive speech, showing, to the apparent satisfac- 
tion of all Southern members, that Mr. Adams 
had been guilty of treason to the peoi^le and to 
the Government of these States, by presenting 
the petition. 

As Marshall closed, the distinguished states- 
man rose from his seat. His movements were 
deliberate, and his whole bearing was dignified. 
His form was erect under the weight of nearly 
four-score years. There he stood, venerable for 
his age, for his great learning, for his important 
services, for the high honors bestowed on him. 
He entered upon no argument. He put forth 
none of that terrible invective which had so often 
caused his enemies to tremble and turn pale. He 
merely called for the reading of the "first para- 
graph in the Declaration of Independence," 
and the Clerk read that portion which sets forth 
the natural rights of " all men to life, liberty, 
and happiness." And with unusual emphasis 
he read that part which declares " Governments 
to be constitut'^d among men to secure the en- 
joyment of these rights;" and when he had 
read the sentence which declares that, " when- 
ever any form of Government becomes destruc- 
tive of these ends, it is the right and the duty 
of the people to modify or abolish it," Mr. 
Adams stopped him, and in a loud, distinct, and 
solemn voice, repeated the last member of the 
sentence ; then turning to the Speaker, he de- 
clared, "if there be any principle dear to the 
American heart, it is the right of the people to 
modify or abolish their Government whenever 
it becomes destructive of the liberties or happi- 
ness of any portion of its inhabitants." And 
having avowed these doctrines as the basis of 
his vindication, he boldly challenged them to the 
issue. Every person present felt the strength 
of his position. His stalwart foes were sudden- 
ly prostrated. His persecutors were confound- 
ed. Not one of their number could be per- 
suaded to admit or deny those great truths. 

It is also due to the truth of history to say 
that other members sympathized with Mr. 
Adams, and assisted him in these efforts, in a 
greater or less degree, according to the interest 
which they felt in the subject. Among those 
most active were Hon, William Slade of Ver- 
mont, Hon. Seth M. Gates of New York, and 



at a later period, Hons. John P. Hale and, 
Amos Tuck of New Hampshire, and John Q. 
Palfrey of Massachusetts. Indeed, I shall not 
soon forget the expression of the aged patriot, 
when his learned colleague (Mr. Palfrey) clos- 
ed his first able speech in favor of human 
rights. The countenance of the "old man elo- 
quent " seemed radiant with hope as he ex- 
claimed, " thank God the seal is broken ; the 
seal is broken ; Massachusetts is no longer 
silent." The lovers of Liberty in this body saw 
at that period, most clearly, that men holding 
the doctrine of the Republican fathers would 
never seek to wield the power of Congress, or 
of the Federal Government, to enslave man- 
kind, or to deprive them of those rights with 
which the God of nature had endowed them. 
They well understood that the real issue was 
based upon primal truths, although Southern 
men would not — nay, dared not — acknowledge 
it. Mr. Adams labored through life to bring out 
the real facts to the public view. It was his 
ruling principle, which exhibited itself sirong in 
death. 1 visited him while prostrate upon what 
was then supposed his death-bed. In the si- 
lent chamber, I sat beside the dying patriot. 
His lamp of life seemed flickering iu its socket. 
His voice was feeble, but his words were earn- 
est. I told him that his physician feared to 
have him converse upon any subject likely to 
excite emotion. Looking me full in the face, 
said he, " I am on the verge of eterniiij ; I shall 
never meet you again in this world ; I must 
talk;" and he proceeded to say that he had no 
hope for the perpetuity of our Government, or 
for the liberty of our people, except that which 
was based upon its return to the doctrines on 
which it had been originally founded ; and he 
exhorted me to exert whatever influence I 
could for the attainment of that object. He 
subsequently lingered awhile between this and 
the spirit world, until the kind angel whispered 
his release to a higher sphere. 

Mr. Chairman, I am at times led, in my own 
mind, to compare the anxiety of the dying 
Adams to form the present issue, with that of 
some living politicians to abandon it. He, 
however, had the benefit of great experience. 
He saw and knew that the slave power wielded 
the Government ; that the interests of the in- 
stitution guided the legislation of Congress and 
controlled the Executive action ; it made and un- 
made our United States Bank ; it fostered our do- 
mestic manufactures, and then made war upon 
our manufacturing interests ; it dictated a pro- 
tective tariff, and then repudiated the policy ; it 
encouraged, then abandoned, the iron interest, 
just as the prosperity of slave labor seemed to 
require. And when from this forum members 
endeavored to give information to the people, 
their lips were sealed by gag rules ; the free- 
dom of debate was stricken down, and the right 
of petition denied, that Slavery might be en- 
couraged. Every measure and policy of Gov- 
ernment was made to bend to the interest of 



that institution. These things were clearly 
seen by Mr. Adams and his cotemporaries, and 
their effeorts to bring out those important facts 
to the understanding of the people were con- 
stant and unyielding. To me it was then in- 
comprehensible how any man could expect that 
Government would do justice to the laborers of 
our free States, while its whole patronage and 
influence were exerted in favor of the most ar- 
rant despotism towards the laborers of the 
South, Some Southern members were more 
consistent. They boldly asserted that labor 
must everywhere be compulsory; that both 
North and South the capitalists owned the la- 
borers ; that the influence and powers of the 
Government should therefore be exerted for 
the protection of capitalists, and leave them to 
take care of the laborers : and they wielded its 
powers for that object. I was then, as now, in- 
capable of comprehending how an issue, in re- 
gard to tariff, or upon any other collateral ques- 
tion, could effect a radical reform in our Gov- 
ernment. The necessity for basing our political 
efforts upon the essential truths avowed by our 
Republican fathers, was to me most obvious. 

1 had assisted in trying the experiment of 
uniting men of conflicting principles for the 
purpose of carrying the election in 1840, aud 
driving the Democratic party from power. I 
labored earnestly for the election of Harrisou 
and Tyler, believing that if we succeeded, we 
should, among other reforms, regain the free- 
dom of debate in this body. Afler the result 
was known, and while the President-elect was 
on his way to this city, I made an eff'ort to 
speak on the subject of Slavery. I was met at 
every step by slaveholders and by gag rules, 
but I succeeded. My friends regarded my ef- 
fort as successful — as an achievement. But 
the President, whom I had assisted to elect, ex- 
pressed his abhorrence of all attempts to ao-i- 
tate the question of human rights; and when, 
after his arrival, I called at liis quarters to pay 
him the customary respect, he gave me such 
unequivocal evidence of his indignation, that I 
was constrained to surrender my own self- 
respect, or to withhold all further manifesta- 
tions of respect for him. While he lived, his 
influence was exerted in favor of the gag rules— 
in favor of Slavery ; and the next j^ear I was 
publicly censured and driven from my seat in 
this body, for avowing doctrines wliich no slave- 
holder dared deny ; but they united with North- 
ern serviles to censure me for utterin"' truths 
on which no man of reputation presumed to 
take issue. This occurred under a Whig Ad- 
ministration, for whose election I had labored 
most earnestly ; and by a House, a large ma- 
jority of whose members belonged to the partv 
with whom I had always acted. These focts 
Hlustrate the flillacy of uniting conflicting ele- 
ments merely to carry an election. They show 
that when the Executive thus elected assumes 
any definite policy, the party at once dissolves 
into its original elements, and the various fac- 



tions tui-n their weapons against each other. 
The disbandment of the Whig party in 1841 
left no remaining doubt on the minds of think- 
ing men, that, a political party, to become per- 
manent, must base its organization upon im- 
mutable truth ; and the failure of President 
Tyler to carry out the views of the party who 
elected him constituted an important step to- 
wards the development of our present issues. 

Mr. Clay, the Whig candidate in 1844, was 
committed to our doctrines ; but by surrender- 
ing his opposition to the annexation of Texas, 
he lost the support of a portion of^e Northern 
vote, and was therefore defeated. His failure 
constituted another lesson to politicians, against 
the policy of uniting political opponents for the 
mere purpose of carrying an election. 

The annexation of Texas, with the avowed 
purpose of extending aud eternizing Slavery, 
constitutes an important chapter in the pro- 
gress of events, showing that the Democratic 
party then acted upon the doctrines now avowed, 
but evaded every effort to compel them to show 
their colors. 

In 1848, the two great parties, in their Na- 
tional Conventions and in their platforms, 
carefully avoided any issue upon the subject of 
Slavery. But such was the popular feeling, that 
a new party was formed ; aud although it did 
not adopt the rights of mankind, enunciated in 
the Declaration of Independence, as the basis 
of its organization, it founded its claims to sup- 
port upon its devotion to Freedom. Its num- 
bers were respectable, and so many votes were 
drawn from the Democratic party, that the 
Whigs elected their candidate. But the new 
Administration, upon its entrance into office, 
was beset with the same diflaculties which sur- 
rounded that of General Harrison, in 1841. 
General Taylor could find no definite doctrine 
nor policy on which he had been elected, or 
to which he had been committed. Of course, 
the conflicting elements were unable to unite ; 
they separated, and the party disbanded, and 
the necessity for selecting immutable truth as 
the basis for a political organization became 
still more apparent. 

At the assembling of the Thirty-first Con- 
gress, some eight members separated from the 
uld parties, avowing their determination to vote 
for no man to the office of Speaker, who hesi- 
tated to pledge himself so to arrange the com- 
mittees as to secure respectful reports upon 
Northern petitions in regard to Slavery. Both 
of the leading organizations saw that this would 
at once develop the great issue which they 
feared, and they rejected the proposition. Under 
those circumstances, no candidate could com- 
mand a majority of the votes, and after a con- 
test of three weeks they united in a resolution, 
declaring that the meml)er receiving the highest 
number of votes should be elected. Tiie Demo- 
cratic candidate was thus elected, aud the 
Whig party actually died l)y its efl'orts to pre- 
vent the development of that iuflueucc which 



defeated all its measures. From that day, it 
appears only in history. But it were in vain 
for historians to record transpiring events, if 
statesmen, politicians, and people, close their 
eyes to the obvious teachings of these exam- 
ples, and strive to maintain a political party 
composed of discordant elements, with no com- 
mon principle on which all can unite. 

The advocates of liberty had greatly increas- 
ed in 1852. Their National Convention was 
characterized for its dignity, and the high moral 
and political character of its members. Its 
platform of principles was more elevated and 
statesmanlike than had been previously put 
forth by any political party. But as neither of 
the old organizations openly denied the truths 
of our Declaration of Independence, the friends 
of Freedom forbore to reiterate them, as such 
reiteration would constitute no issue with either 
of the other parties. 

They had denounced all agitation upon the 
subject of Slavery ; indeed, they avoided ma- 
king any issue between themselves. Neither 
denied any doctrine or policy which the other 
asserted ; and this timidity determined many 
of their members to take a more distinct posi- 
tion whenever an opportunity should be pre- 
sented. The people generally felt it unbecom- 
ing intelligent men, unworthy of the descendants 
of our revolutionary sires, to fear the investiga- 
^^ tion or the public discussion of human rights. 
]fg" Fortunately, at that time the people who had 
i, • settled in Kansas were calling lor a Territorial 
^^ Government. That region had been solemnly 
consecrated to Freedom ; and the right of its in- 
habitants to life, liberty, and property, was to 
be again recognised or denied by Congress. 
It appeared inevitaljle that members of this 
body must be driven from their hiding places. 
I had for some y^ars looked to that period 
with hope and expectation that it would bring 
out the issue between Liberty und Slavery. 
But the chairman of the Senate's Committee on 
Territories, feeling the difficulty of his position, 
and desirous of retaining the confidence of his 
constituents, and at the same time to avoid a 
conflict with the slave power, determined to ad- 
here to the old expediency of evasion ; yet he 
appeared undecided and vacillating. He re- 
ported his bill to organize the Territory, then 
moved its recommitment, changed it, and re- 
reported it; and finally resolved on denying the 
right of Congress to enforce within our Terri- 
tories that provision of the Constitution which 
declares that " no person shall be deprived of 
life, liberty, or property, without due process of 
law ; " and to assert, in opposition to this dis- 
tinct declaration, that the people of a Territory 
may, if they choose, deprive a portion of the 
human family of life, liberty, and property — 
may rob them of their intelligence, their man- 
hood. 

This doctrine being so modified as to limit 
the power of excluding Slavery to the Conven- 
tion which might frame their State Constitution, 



became for the time being the avowed doc- 
trine of their party leaders; and, after the lapse 
of more than sixty years, the dogma put forth 
by Mr. Paine in 1791 was avowed in the Sen- 
ate, in this House, and by individuals of the party 
throughout the nation. The advocates of this 
atheism attempted to sanctify it by calling it 
" popular sovereignty," and argued that a peo- 
ple, when forming a Government, may author- 
ize piracy and murder and robbery, if they 
choose to do so ; that the right to enslave our 
fellow men constitutes one of the very ele- 
ments of "self government." 

This avowal of unlimited tyranny, without ref- 
erence to the Constitution, or to that eternal law 
of right and wrong which was ordained by na- 
ture's God, so aroused the people at the elections 
in 1854, that the Democrats were left in a mi- 
nority in this body. 

But the opposition was composed of conflict- 
ing elements ; some were slaveholders, some 
Americans, but most of them were Republicans. 
These factions could not unite in the election 
of Speakei-, or on any subject touching Slavery. 
The Republicans adopted resolutions pledging 
their support to any member who would so ar- 
range the committees as to secure respectful 
reports on Northern petitions in regard to 
Slavery, precisely as the advocates of Freedom 
had done in 1849. The Democratic party and 
fourteen Americans discarded this reasonable 
proposition; but those two parties could not 
agree with each other, and a contest unequalled 
in our political history followed. For nine weeks 
the conflict raged, until a distinguished Repub- 
lican from Massachusetts was made Speaker; 
and it would appear that the whole nation must 
have seen the necessity for bringing the radical 
question of human rights before the people for 
decision. The Democratic party, in 1856, when 
assembled in General Convention, ofBcially 
avowed the doctrine proclaimed by their lead- 
ers in 1854. Thus, by the force of circum- 
stances, was that party driven, step by step, after 
more than twenty years' resistance, to take a 
definite position in regard to the greatest ques- 
tion which ever agitated the Christian world. 
These circumstances had been created by Adams 
and Slade and Gates and Palfrey and Hale and 
King and Allen and Wilmot and Root and Dur- 
kee and Julian, and other members of Congress, 
and by societies and lecturers and editors who 
had labored among the people, to drive the ad- 
vocates of opprpjsion to an avowal of their 
doctrines. 

To effect this object, I had toiled for many 
years. I had, in this body, asserted the doc- 
trine of man's inalienable rights, and called on 
gentlemen of the Democratic party to admit or 
deny it; but I had called in vain. I had trav- 
elled and spoken in thirteen States ; I had writ- 
ten essays and newspaper articles ; I had com- 
piled a volume of what I regarded as interesting 
incidents, showing the secret workings of the 
slave power. These had been gathered with 



6 



great labor from more than two hundred docu- 
ments reposing in our library under the accu- 
mulated dust of many years. To expose this 
mural and political infidelity, I had encountered 
Southern opposition and Northern distrust ; and 
I greatly rejoiced to see that party compelled 
to avow its doctrines; for I well knew that the 
avowal of its principles would show that its days 
were numbered. 

When the Republicans met in National Con- 
vention, in June, 185G, but one alternative lay 
before them; they were constrained to take 
position upon the undying truths promulgated 
in the Declaration of Independence, and per- 
petuated in the Federal Constitution, or to dis- 
card those doctrines, repudiate the Constitution, 
and unite with the Democratic party. The plat- 
form of the Republican party was a necessity, 
rendered imperious by circumstances. So ob- 
vious was this necessity, that in the committee 
appointed to draw up a confession of political 
faith, not a member seemed to entertain a doubt 
upon the subject. I was myself oue of the com- 
mittee, and speak from actual knowledge. The 
entire platform, as it now stands,* was adopted 
in committee by a unanimous vote, and i-eported 
to the Convention, which adopted it without a 
dissenting voice. 

The issue thus formed was afterwards con- 

* TUo foUowiug is a copy of the Republican platform ailopt- 
ed at Philadelphia, Juno 18, 1856 : 

" Tills convention of delegates iissombled in pursuance of 
a call addressed to the people of the United Stales, without 
regard to past political differences or divisions, who are op- 
posed to the repeal of the Missouri Oim promise ; to the policy 
of the pres(!nt Administration ; to the extension of Slavery 
into free territ<jry ; in favor of the admission of Kansas as a 
free State; ; of restoring the action of the Federal Govern- 
ment to the principles of Washington and Jefferson ; and for 
the purpose of presenting candidates for the offices of Presi- 
dent and Vice President, do resolve : 

" 1. Resoleed, That the maintenance of the principles pro- 
mulgated in the Declaration of Independence, and embodied 
in the Federal Omstitution, are essential to the preservation 
of our reijublicim interests, and that the rights of the States 
must and slmll be preserved. 

" •!. iiesolcd, That, with our republican fathers, we hold 
it to be a self-evident truth, that all men arc endowed with 
the inalienable right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- 
piness, and that the primary object and ulterior design of 
our Federal Government were U> secure these rights t.) all 
persons under its exclusive jurisdiction ; that, as our repub- 
lican fathers, when thoy had abolished Slavery in all our na- 
tional territory, ordained that no person sliall bo deprived of 
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, it bo- 
comes our duty to maintjiin this provision of their Constitu- 
tion, against all attempts to violat* it for the purpose of estab- 
lishing Slavery in the Territories of the United Stjitcs, by pos- 
itive legislation prohibituig its existence or extension therein. 
Tliat wedeny the authority of Congress, of a Territorial Legis- 
lature, of any individual, or association of individuals, to 
give legal existence to Slavery in any Territory of the United 
States, while the present Constitution shall be maintained. 

"3. Resolved, That the Constitution confers upon Congress 
sovereign power over the Territories of tho United States, 
for their Government, and that in the exercise of this power 
it is both tho right and the dvity of Congress to prohibit in 
the Territories those twin relics of barbarism, Polygamy and 
Slavery. 

" 4. Sesohvd, Tliat, while tho Constitntion of the United 
States was ordained and established by the people in order 
to form a more perfect union, esUiblish justice, insure domes- 
tic tranquillity, provide for the common drfence, and secure 
the blessings of liberty, and contains ample provisions for 
the protection of tho life, liberty, and property, of every citi- 
zen, tho dearest constitutional rights of the people ofKan.sas 
iave been fraudulently and violently taken from them ; their 



firmed by the Supreme Court, acting as the 
agent of the slave power. That tribunal, not 
able to contradict or evade the language of the 
Declaration of Independence, insulted the intel- 
ligence and cfimmon sense of the people by 
gravely deciding that the signers of that instru- 
ment said that iohicJi they did mA mean, and 
intended that which they did not say. But that 
decision transferred the issue to the record. It 
has passed into history, and will remain subject 
to the inspection of future generations. Our 
party was founded on these doctrines. Bv the 
inherent force of these principles it has in- 
creased beyond all precedent. The Republican 
States now include two-thirds of our free popu- 
lation. This platform was framed and adopted 
by a Convention authorized by the people, and 
must remain until another Convention of like 
powers shall assemble. Men who deny these 
doctrines may vote with us, preferring our or- 
ganization to that of the Democratic party. We 
should treat them kindly, encourage them in 
every proper manner; "but we cannot claim 
them as Republicans, while they deny our essen- 
tial doctrines. Men who believe in and adhere 
to our principles, do not propose any modifica- 
tion ; and those who do not believe them surely 
have no right to demand a surrender of them.' 
It is undoubtedly true, that some who desire 

Territory has been invaded bj'an armed force ; spuriousand 
pretended legislative, judicial, and executive olflcers have 
been set over them, by whose usurped authority, su.staincd 
by the military power of the Government, tyraunic;il and 
unconsitutional laws have been enacted and enforced ; the 
rights of the people to keep and bear arms havo been in- 
fringed ; tost oaths of an extraordinary and entangling na-. 
ture have been imposed, as a condition of exercising the 
right ofsuflVage and holding office ; the right of an accused 
person to a sjjeedy and public trial by an impartial jury has 
been denied ; the right of the people to be secure in their per- 
sons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable 
searches and seizures, has beon violated ; they havo been 
deprived of life, liberty, and property, without due process 
of law ; that the freedom of speech and of the press has been 
abridged ; the right to choose their representatives has been 
made of no effect ; murders, robberies, and arsons, havo 
been instigated and encouraged, and the offenders have been 
allowed to go unpunished ; that all these things have been 
done with the knowledge, sanction, and procurement, of the 
present Administration ; and that for tliis high crime against 
the Constitution, the Union, and Humanity, we arraign lie 
Administration, tho President, his advisers, agents, support- 
ers, apologists, and accessories, either before or after the 
facts, before the country, and before the world ; and that it 
is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these 
atrocious outrages, and their accomplices, to a sure and con- 
dign punishment hereafter." * * * 

" 7. Reaolved, That a railroad to the Pacific ocean, by the 
most central and practical route, is imperatively demanded 
by the interests of the whole country, and that the Federal 
Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in 
its construction, and, as an auxiliary thereto, the imme- 
diate construction of an emigrant route on the line of the rail- 
road. 

" 8. Resolved, That appropriations by Congress for tho im- 
provement of rivers and harbors, of a national characior, re- 
quired for the accommodation and security of our existing 
commerce, are authorized by the Constitution, and justifledi 
by the obligation of Government to protect the lives and prop- 
erty of its citizens. 

" 9. Resolotd, That wo invite the affiliation and co-opera- 
tion of the men of all parties, however diflering from us in 
other respects, in supiwrt of the principles herein declared ; 
and, believing that the spirit of our institutions, as well as 
the Constitution of our country, guaranties liberty of con- 
science and equality of rights among citizens, wo oppose all 
legislation impairing their security." 



to defeat the Democratic party desire to modify 
the Republican platform ; and it is equally cer- 
tain that no man who desires the success of 
of our doctrines will advise us to abandon their 
support. It must be obvious that every effort 
to change our position tends to our defeat, 
though it may not be so designed. Our troops 
are in the field ; our enemy is before us ; our 
ranks are serried, and ready for the conflict ; 
and he must be a secret enemy or a doubtful 
friend who would advise us to change position 
in the face of the enemy, who is ready to charge 
so soon as he sees us begin to waver. 

Of the character of the issue thus formed, I 
rhay be pervnitted to remark, that no other ever 
has. and I think no other ever will, take so deep 
a hold upon the American mind as that which 
relates to the natural, the inalienable rights of 
mankind. These constitute the basis of the 
Republican platform now, as they did in 1776. 
The devotion of the American people to Liber- 
ty then proved invincible upon those battle- 
fields where they met the enemies of Freedom 
at the cannon's mouth ; and it will not prove 
less efficient at this day, when the conflict is at 
the ballot-box. We are not only stimulated by 
our love of liberty, by all the sacred recollec- 
tions which cluster around our Revolution, 
but we have sworn that "no person" under 
our jurisdiction " shall be deprived of life, 
liberty, or property, without due process of 
law." Allegiance to the Constitution, to human 
nature, and to God, constrain us to maintain 
our republican doctrines. 

I speak of the fundamental truths which 
constitute the basis of our political faith, as 
they constituted the basis of the Declaration of 
Independence. These truths are immutable 
and unchangeable as their Divine Author. 
They must forever remain the basis of our ac- 
tion, while the Constitution shall be maintain- 
ed, or the party shall exist. On matters of 
policy, our platform may be changed to suit 
occasions as they arise ; but the great cen- 
tral truth on which we all unite must remain 
unchanged. The constitutional powers of Gov- 
ernment must at all times be wielded to secure 
every human soul under its exclusive jurisdic- 
tiction in the enjoyment of the rights which 
God has bestowed on him. 

To this doctrine there can be no modifica- 
tion. There is no neutral ground between 
right and icrong, between Liherty and Slaverij. 
Every human being is entitled to live, to tliat 
liberty which is necessary to unfold his moral 
nature, and prepare for heaven. And he that 
is not with us on this point, must be against 
us. And when politicians suggest that the Re- 

?ublican party shall abandon this primal truth, 
reply, there is a million of electors in these 
States who \fi\\ not abandon this doctrine of the 
Constitution, this faith of our republican fa- 
thers. Men who have labored ten, fifteen, or 
twenty years, to bring out this great principle, 
will not suddenly abandon it, face to the right 



about, and again submit to the domination of the 
slave power. They will not be deceived, nor 
defrauded of their votes. They will sustain no 
man for the ofiicc of President or Vice Presi- 
dent, because they do not know whether he is 
right or lorong ; but candidates, to obtain sup- 
port, must show by their past action or present 
pledges that they stand unconditionally upon 
these primal doctrines. 

I am aware that our opponents charge the 
Republican party with abandoning their plat- 
form, because members of this body voted at 
our last session for the amendment to the Le- 
compton Constitution, in order to defeat that 
! infamous measure. JEven the PrJ^dent, in 
i his message, repeats this charge. For the 
i benefit of that high functionary, and others, I 
j will say that members of Congress did not 
j make the Republican platform, and they cannot 
tinmake it. The people who framed it will see 
I to its preservation. True, the President has 
j cause to complain. We left our fortress, and, 
by strategy in the open field, we captured his 
! Lecompton host ; but it is not usital for pris- 
oners thus to complain of the superior science 
of their captors. 

It has been objected, that a political party 
cannot stand upon moral and religious truth. 
I reply, it cannot at this day stand 2vithovt such 
basis. The progress of Christian civilization 
has demonstrated that the popular mind can 
be no longer satisfied with mere questions of 
policy, while the Government is made to sanc- 
tion the most arrant despotism, and encourage 
crimes of the most flagrant character. 

We do not say the black man is, or shall be, 
the equal of the white man ; or that he shall 
vote or hold office, however just such position 
may be ; but we assert that he who murders a 
black man shall be hanged ; that he who robs 
a black man of his liberty or his property shall 
be punished like other criminals. We deny 
that crime depends upon the complexion of 
him against whom it is committed. 

Sir, our Government should have led the na- 
tions of the earth in this glorious work ; but it 
is now too late for us to aspire to that proud 
position. The Emperor of Russia is at this 
time engaged in freeing the slaves of his Em- 
pire, while our President is seeking the exten- 
sion of human bondage. England long since 
repudiated African slavery. France imitated 
tlie noble example. Several Mohammedan 
Princes have shown themselves better Christians 
I than American statesmen, by abolishing slave- 
ry and the slave trade in their dominions. 
Even phlegmatic Holland is in advance of us 
in the great cause of emancipation. 

But it now appears to be generally expected, 
^oth North and South, East and West, by states- 
j men and people, that the Republican party will 
' come into power at the next Presidential elec- 
tion ; nothing can prevent this but their own 
divisions ; and it is proper that we should fore- 
warn the people of Cuba, and of Mexico, and 



8 



of Central America, that if, by any means, they 
come under the jurisdiction of our Constitution, 
its j>7-oci-swn.s icill he enforced ; and that " no 
person amoii/j them shall be deprived of life, 
libertv, or property, without due process of 
law." llavin;^ sworn allegiance to the doctrines 
of the fathers, we are expected to carry them 
out in <rood faith. 

Mr. Chairman, from childhood I have min- 
gled with the people. I know their love of jus- 
tice, their devotion to liberty. The great 
American heart beats in sympathy for the op- 
press(/(l, for justice to ourselves and to man- 
kind. The popular voice demands the exercise 
of our constitutional powers, to drive oppression 
from our Territories, from our ships while sail- 
ing upon the high seas, from this District ; to 
exclude it from all support by Congress, by the 
Executive, by our courts ; to condemn it as an 
outlaw ; and that the legitimate powers of Gov- 
ernment shall be exerted for Freedom. Give 
the people an opportunity, and they will elect a 
President and Vice President, a Senate and 
House of Representatives, pledged not merely 
to these purposes, but to put forth the moral in- 
fluence of our nation to drive oppression from 
the e*rth. 

To the attainment of this object my ofBcial 
labors have long been directed. Those labors 
are now drawing to a close : and I shall soon 
surrender the cause, so far as I am olhciallvl 



concerned, to other and abler hands. My po- 
litical pathway has been rugged — beset "with 
difficulties. I have been constrained to meet 
many of my fellow-members on the field of in- 
tellectual conflict, and at times those conflicts 
have been severe; but I am not conscious of 
having assailed any man except in self-defence, 
and I separate from my opponents without a 
feeling of unkindness; indeed, if my desire, my 
earnest prayer, could avail, they should all be 
just and wi.se, and pure and happy. Here, for 
many long years, I have counselled with friends 
and combatted opponents. The scenes throu?h 
which I have passed rush upon the recollection, 
as I am about to bid adieu to this arena of my 
political life. I shall leave it with emotions, 
but not with regret. I shall bear with me to 
private life many interesting recollections of the 
great contest which gives character to the age in 
which we live. And I beg to assure you, Mr. 
Chairman and gentlemen, that whether in pub- 
lic or in private life, in prosperity or adversity, 
whether living or dying, my heart's desire and 
prayer to God shall be, that every human soul 
may enjoy that liberty which is necessarv to 
protect and cherish life, attain knowledge,'and 
prepare for heaven; and, when I shall have 
passed away, let my epitaph announce that / 
hated oppression and icrong — that I loved Lib- 
ERTY AXD Justice. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 

BUELL & BL AN CHARD, PRINTERS. 
1859. 



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255 



